Piazza Bella - Aperitivo IX
Light on the horizon
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Sam left me alone on the piazza bench because a late afternoon coffee onslaught had spawned a queue outside the cafe. The sun felt too warm, but a slight breeze came off the sea, channeling through myriad canals and pathways, gently cooling my cheeks.
I felt disheartened and leaned forward, groaning loudly before face-planting into both palms. My emotions churned because I’d fallen into an abyss filled with anger and sorrow.
A day ago, my future imagined life had felt like a newly launched vessel afloat with prospects. Today, I was shipwrecked on jagged rocks, splintering apart with no salvation in sight.
“Don’t be so sad, my dear.”
“Bella.”
“Ciao, baby.”
“Ciao.”
Bella sat on the bench near me, kicking her skirt hem wide to inspect the flowery patterned fabric for blemishes or stains. Like me, she was meticulous in cleanliness for all things. I suspected a strand of OCD ran through her matrilineal line, much like in the Keady clan.
“Thank you, Carla.”
“What for?”
“For not cleaving my husband’s balls from the rest of him when you no doubt wanted to. I may still need them.”
“Oh, Bella. I’m so sorry!”
I couldn’t laugh at her joke, which she almost choked on. Bella shifted closer along the wooden slatted bench, and we hugged, crying in utter misery. I had no right to steal her moment of suffering, but I couldn’t help sharing it.
“We’re going to the clinic now. Luca is getting dressed. I have all of the medical notes that he hid from me.”
“Will they have any solid information today?”
“No, but they said we could meet and discuss everything, ask questions, and such like. The results of his tests won’t be known for two weeks.”
“God, Bella. I hop-”
“Stop! There is no more hoping about this anymore, Carla. Luca will pull through his illness, and our family will grow and thrive. You must step up to help us, please.”
“Of course I will.”
“It’s what Mama would want. We will all stick together.”
“I know.”
“You feel her presence in the apartment, don’t you?”
“Yes, she’s everywhere.”
“She would love you very much.”
“Thank you, Bella.”
“I must go and drag Luca from in front of the mirror now. I’ll see you later. Please assemble everyone after service so we can explain to them what’s going on.”
“Of course.”
I strolled back to the Trattoria with her. Bella, who was always a proud woman, held her head high and smiled, even skipping to her husband when he walked through the front door.
“The color has returned to your face, Luca.”
“The truth has set me free, Carla. Thank you. Oh, thank your dad for me in your prayers too.”
“What for?”
“A perfectly weighted eight-inch cook's knife.”
I smiled and watched the loving couple walk across our piazza with their arms linked. Day and night conspired in the last flickering light of the sun, and I thought the universe deliberately shone on those two before they disappeared into a shadowy alleyway.
I strolled through the restaurant, acknowledging customer smiles and a few nods of friendship from those who recognized me. Word of my employment at the Trattoria spread through our neighborhood quickly, and I frequently stopped for a friendly chat while walking outside.
I vowed to learn more Italian than my current limited vocabulary comprising a greeting or farewell.
“What’s happening, chef?”
“You’re presenting our secret dish on Friday, Angelo.”
“No, I meant with our head chef. Is he okay?”
“We will find out after service. Let’s do this for our owner and head chef, shall we everyone?”
“YES, CHEF!”
The whole brigade shouted. Their unanimity in support brought tears to my eyes, which I hid by moving quickly through the stations, inspecting each for their readiness.
The orders steamed through our kitchen almost nonstop, and I failed to notice when Bella and Luca returned, slipping upstairs. I first realized when both had seamlessly changed into work clothes and slid into their usual roles. Sam waved goodbye, leaving the front of house to return cafe side, Margarita stayed to help, and I took over the pass, smiling at my boss.
Luca and Bella seemed relieved, but that might be an unrelenting stoic determination to maintain high morale.
We’ll find out soon.
Service went well, and Sam slipped back over late on, hanging about on the canal wall with the rest of the cafe staff. We scrubbed everything down as usual, and slowly, each person finished their chores and filtered into the restaurant, taking a seat.
When Bella and Luca entered the room, they scanned the faces of their staff, who loved them both dearly. The atmosphere in our heavenly Trattoria was drenched with unhappiness.
Bella strolled around the room clockwise, patting shoulders, rifling through hair, and lifting chins.
“No more sorrow and tears, please. My husband has leukemia, but his chances of surviving and growing old enough to cause me a life of pain are excellent.”
A subdued chuckle rose, then dissolved quickly, leaving much more sorrow than happiness.
Luca stood in the center of the Trattoria, leaning on a pillar. He seemed relaxed and smiled at each person around the room.
“My cancer treatment went well. Now it’s ended, and my strength will return more every day. Soon, I will carry fish from the market without almost collapsing.”
He glanced at me smiling, and I grinned back, remembering our chance meeting in the fish market.
“I want you to put this problem at the back of your minds. Two weeks from now, tests will decide if I need more treatment or whether I am okay. I feel strong and positive about me and all of you.”
He beat his heart three times with a clenched fist, emphasizing the determination I’d witnessed in his kitchen.
“I have regained the love of my wife after a stupid mistake and found a new great friend in our Sous Chef. I have all of you, my family, who I love very dearly.”
“I love you too, chef.”
Practically everyone murmured their adulation softly, but each was loud enough to be heard. A few sobbed gently, miserable at the thought they might lose a great mentor and friend.
“I mean it, you guys. My life is far from over. The doctors are optimistic, so we will march on. I’ll hear no more of this illness until my results are delivered. Do you understand?”
“YES, CHEF!”
Angelo raised his hand high. I’d noticed he’d been the most affected by the sad news and seemed fit to burst.
“Will you share any news with us, chef? Updates and such?”
“Yes, of course. Now, all of you, get off to bed.”
I lingered in the dining room, comforted by its ancient wooden paneling. I stared at a floor with more character polished into its grain than any other place I’d ever visited.
When Bella had escorted her husband upstairs, she returned to the dining room, floated across its wooden floor, and sat opposite me.
“He doesn’t need my help to get upstairs.”
“I know.”
“I do it to comfort myself.”
“I know that, too.”
“Would you like to sit in the piazza and admire the stars while I smoke myself into a state of happiness?”
“I’d love to Bella.”
She locked the Trattoria front door while I strolled ahead, intending to scout out the best view of the stars. When she joined me, we sat close together and held hands in solidarity.
“Are we friends, Carla?”
“I hope so.”
“Yes, I think we are. Mama would approve of our friendship.”
I leaned backward and stared at the heavens on a beautifully clear night. I could never tell if the pinprick lights strafing across the sky were shooting stars or just low-orbit satellites, but I wished on each one, anyway.
“Look, Carla. Do you see them?”
Bella nudged me, and I peered into the darkness towards the cafe, where two figures lurked stealthily in the shadows. They were clearly in romantic clinches and kissing as passionate lovers do.
“Do you think they are lovers or a married couple, Bella?”
“This is Italy, sweetheart; it could be kids dating or their grandparents having an affair. Our city is a majestic place for lovers.”
“Are you and Luca good now? Forgive me for asking.”
She stared me squarely in the eye with nothing but affection on her face.
“Yes, Carla. Me and Luca are good now.”
“I’m so relieved.”
“Luca told me you brought him to his senses, and I am grateful for that.”
“No problem.”
We silently spectated the shadowy lovers as though we’d bought tickets and were entitled to a show. When it was apparent they were getting very intimate, it felt wrong to invade their privacy, but I was too far invested in their successful outcomes.
I felt aroused by their passion. Their love became noisy in an otherwise peaceful piazza and had clearly progressed far beyond first base.
Bella chuckled, and I snorted, clasping a hand tightly over my mouth to stifle the noise, but it was too late. The couple heard us and dissolved backward into the shadows. After a few minutes of silence, someone barely emerged, scanning in every direction for danger. When they believed the coast was clear, a woman strode briskly across the piazza, away from us, hugging the buildings.
“Fucking hell!”
“What is it, Carla?”
“It’s Margarita.”
“Oh fuck. The sneaky bitch has a secret lover.”
“I can’t see who it is, can you?”
“No. They must have slipped away in the other direction.”
Bella roared with laughter once Margarita had cleared the piazza. There was little chance our friend knew we’d disturbed her because our bench was in complete darkness, as she had been, hidden away with her lover.
After I bid goodnight to Bella and climbed the stairs to my apartment, I fell through its door exhausted. Sam was already showering but had opened a bottle of red, leaving it to breathe. I poured a healthy glass, glad for some good fortune.
The first sip eased me while I stood at a window gazing into darkness. When I held the oversized glass up to a light, swirling its ruby nectar almost to the rim, I saw Venice, its history, and all the people who ever lived there celebrating their lives and a wonderful city.
With the first glass consumed, I poured a second, but this time only halfway. I saw Sam’s reflection as I stared into the redness, marveling at how something so simple as a grape could be transformed into a bringer of peace and harmony.
“That was an awful day.”
“Yes… it was stressful.”
I poured another glass and handed it to her. Sam always inspected wine by sight and then smelled it before she drank. Her face lit up, with delight rising by another notch each time the examined vintage passed another test.
“Mmm.”
She set her glass down on a coaster and wrapped the towel, protecting her nakedness more tightly before sitting down on our brown leather sofa beside me.
“I’m constantly amazed at how life can change so rapidly from happy to sad, Sam.”
“That’s what it was like for me on the evening Paul announced his new beginning with a guy.”
“We’ve had the car crash, and now we’re in triage.”
“This Barolo will help us recover.”
“Yeah, save some for me, please. I need to shower because I smell like a camel's armpit.”
“Camels don’t have armpits, babe.”
“If they had them, they’d smell like me right now.”
I wasn’t long in the shower because it was approaching midnight, I wanted one more glass of wine and a long sleep. I scrubbed myself hard, pretending to rinse off all troubles.
The only towel left was too short to wrap an eight-year-old in, so I dried off and slipped on pajama bottoms and one of Dad’s laundered t-shirts. When I returned to our kitchen, the remaining wine was split between two fresh glasses. Sam looked serious, so I tried to lighten the atmosphere.
“I’m feeling relaxed now, at least, and that’s without passive smoking Bella’s weed.”
“Will he survive, Carla?”
“Luca’s a great guy when you peel off his pretense of womanizing. If Bella wills him to live on, he dare not defy her.”
“Yeah. They are a great couple. Margarita was devastated when she stumbled into the cafe earlier.”
“They seem very close. Umm… Sam, did you say this was a Barolo?”
“It is, yes.”
“Sam Riley, you fucking slut.”
I bounced off the sofa and rounded on her, stabbing an accusatory finger while trying not to laugh hysterically.
“What the fuck do you mean, Carla?”
“It was you in clinches in the shadows of the piazza. You were kissing Margarita.”
“Oh, come off it. Don’t be so dumb.”
“Oh, oh… look, there it is.”
“There what is?”
“The cat that got the cream grin. You can’t fool me. Jesus Christ… I should have known. You fucking tart!”
I paced the room excited and almost in tears, laughing. Sam stopped denying her liaison with Margarita and sat as red-faced as I’d ever seen her. I felt joyous and clung to the only happy thing that had happened all day.
“I like her, Carla.”
“Ha! See! I was right.”
“Were you sitting near the trees in the darkness?”
“Yes. I was with Bella, and we saw you two at it. Well… when I say saw, it was like watching two shadows fucking.”
“Oh god. Did Bella see us as well?”
“We both saw Margarita leaving but didn’t know she was kissing you.”
I watched a warm smile grow on my friend's face and knew from our history together that she was reliving a memory.
“She kisses just like you, Carla. Soft, gentle, and all woman.”
“Just as you like it, slut.”
“I’m not a slut.”
“No, well… you would have been had you selfishly kept this Barolo, gifted by your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“What is she then?”
Sam rested back on the leather sofa, sweeping her hands gently on the cracked, aged surface of the two leather cushions beside her. She lolled her head from side to side as though jogging her brain might provide an answer. In the end, she laughed heartily with a zest for life I’d not seen since she arrived.
“Oh my god, Carla. I have a girlfriend.”
“Cheers to that sweetie. I doubt you could have picked a better one in all of Venice.”
I watched the reality of her new romance sink in and noticed when sadness flickered on her face.
“What is it, Sam?”
“What will I do? I can’t stay here, and how would I tell the kids that mom and dad are both gay?”
I slid onto the sofa beside her, hugging my best friend.
“First things first, Sam.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m messaging Margarita to thank her for a fucking great Barolo.”
“Oh god, you can’t. She’ll know straight away and be mortified.”
“Good. It serves you both right. A naughty pair of sluts making out in the shadows while decent folk enjoy the night's sky should be ashamed.”
Sam chased me around the apartment, desperate to prise off the iron grip I had on my phone. We ended up in the bedroom and collapsed on the duvet into a wrestling match. She won as always and straddled my midriff, holding my phone high as though brandishing a trophy.
When her jubilation expired, Sam looked down at me with uncertainty flooding her face.
“Seriously though, Carla, what shall I do?”
“Seriously, Sam?”
“Yeah. Please, babe. Tell me what to do.”
“I can’t. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Okay then, tell me what you would do.”
I had to think for a moment, but not about what to do because I was confident about that. It might cross a line if I offered advice to a friend who was recently shaken to her core.
I decided to be honest because Sam deserved that. Whatever consequences might arise, our friendship would deal with them.
“Bring them over here to live, Sam.”
“My kids?”
“Yeah. Bring them here and make a life with Margarita, me, Bella, and Luca. Come live in this apartment or the boarding rooms with your girlfriend.”
“Umm, fuck, babe. I was not expecting that.”
“What did you think I’d say?”
“I don’t know, but not that.”
She rolled off me, and I heard her phone buzz from next door. I leaped off the bed and sprinted to the kitchen, slamming two doors behind me on the way. Sam screamed and came after me in hot pursuit, but she was too late.
I did the floss dance, mimicking a childish, mocking voice.
“Night, Sam. XOXO.”
We collapsed in a heap of tickles and laughter, with me relinquishing her phone. Sam rolled over, and her fingers sped across the screen, responding to Margarita’s goodnight kiss with one of her own while I retrieved my glass.
“Are you happy now, Carla?”
“That my best friend found a fabulous girlfriend? Damn fucking right, I’m happy. It’s the only good thing that happened today.”
“Yeah, well. I had better luck than you, I guess.”
“Better luck now, Sam?”
She turned a bright red, and Sam wished she’d kept her mouth shut.
“You’d better finish that sentence, Sam Riley or you will be banished to the spare room tonight.”
“All I will say is that Margarita is very handy with her fingers, babe. Even better than you.”
“Oh wow! You didn’t?”
I could see from large letters written on her face that Sam had been finger-banged.
“You know me, Carla. I’ll let anyone do anything to me for a decent bottle of red wine.”
We went to bed and talked for a while until Sam fell asleep. Knowing the couple downstairs would probably not sleep tonight added to my burden. Even with Sam big spooning me, I stayed awake most of the night, mulling over the future.
How could sadness and joy exist in such abundance at the same time?
The thoughts of Sam bringing her kids to Venice, hooking up with Margarita, and the renewal of Luca and Bella’s love made me want to cry tears of joy. Then cancer invaded my happy place, and stormy clouds lurked far out at sea, threatening to come ashore, disrupting my peace.
The following day, my three-mile run was a temporary relief. Sam slept in because she felt exhausted. Jetlag, work, and the emotions of relationship transformation had weighed, so I let her malingering ride just this one time.
When I returned and dragged Sam out of bed to attend our daily ritual, she was still lazy but willing to be yanked along.
“You look tired, Carla?”
“I didn’t sleep well, Bella. I’m sure you didn’t either.”
“My mind races with bad thoughts when it’s dark and silent. I must turn the page and move on with Luca, praying he will be okay.”
I touched my heart in sympathy and fell silent, pleased when Sam rejoined us, having popped inside the cafe for the toilet. A familiar face strode across the piazza, waving at us.
“Ciao ladies.”
“Ciao Margarita.”
This should be fun.
Margarita was a welcome regular at our dawn coven. This morning, she’d sat beside Sam, who leaned across the table, desperate to start a conversation that would prevent her girlfriend from sniffing out that I knew about them.
“Have you heard about Liam yet, Bella?”
Bella tapped her ash into the Murano glass tray, then stared at me and back at Sam.
“Is that who was crashing around upstairs with you two last night?”
I laughed, more at the horrified expression Sam shot her than Bella’s humor. She stammered a response while searching for a hole to dive into.
“No… no, that was Carla and me.”
I stepped in to divert attention from my faltering friend, but it only worsened things.
“We fought over the last few sips of a fabulous Barolo.”
It was Margarita’s turn to burn bright red. We fell silent, smirking, smiling, and looking like a gang of child spies who possessed the same secret except Bella.
“What’s going on? Carla, who is Liam?”
“I think he was the guy we saw fucking in the shadows last night, Bella.”
She smiled, recalled our voyeurism, and leaned over the table most conspiratorially, beckoning Sam and Margarita into her confidence.
“You won’t believe what Carla and I saw last night.”
“Go on, Bella, tell them.”
Sam looked sick, and Margarita wasn’t far behind. Bella pointed to the scene of last night's assault on decency beside the cafe, chuckling while blowing her smoke sideways to avoid the two perpetrators.
“Two lovers as bold as you like were in the shadows over there going at it hammer and tongs. I’m fairly sure he was fucking her, or at least, the guy had his hands down her pants.”
The fact that Bella knew about Margarita had me almost rolling on the floor laughing. That she didn’t realize Sam was her sister-in-law's co-conspirator made it much funnier.
I finally broke down, almost crying with laughter, when Margarita feigned shock like a Hollywood star, shaking her head with a most serious expression.
“You’re fucking joking me, Bella?”
“Seriously, Margarita. This neighborhood is deteriorating fast.”
I had to get a witty interjection in because it wasn’t fair to be the only one missing out. I also wanted to put Liam off limits, at least until tomorrow, when I could judge his performance under inquisition conditions.
“I blame the Americans. They have lowered the tone of this neighborhood. Even since I arrived here, you can see the change.”
Next Chapter:
But on reflection. I wonder if the lack of comments led you to shelving it for a while? If so, let me reassure you that I, for one, think this is a superb series.
Great yet again Kate. This truly was a hidden gem.